


New Neighbors

by avatays



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: A little angst, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Azula (Avatar) Is a Victim, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Developing Friendships, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Lu Ten (Avatar) Lives, M/M, Misunderstandings, Neighbors, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ursa (Avatar) is a Good Parent, discussions of homophobia hate crimes and being outed in chapter 4, major fluff, that wasnt a tag BUT IT SHOULD BE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:22:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25463167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avatays/pseuds/avatays
Summary: Hakoda had been a social worker for over fifteen years now, and he worked mainly with kids of abuse as they went through hearings and custody battles. So when the Sozin family moves in next door, and he sees the boy with a large wound over his left eye, he knew what had happened.OR:Ursa and Hakoda’s kids get along famously, the four of them went on so many adventures, and they were the best of friends. However, as the kids got older and started high school, making more friends along the way, they were convinced that two of them were dating. Hakoda suspected it was Katara and Zuko, Ursa was sure it was Azula and Sokka.They were both wrong.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula/Mai/Ty Lee, Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 143
Kudos: 2134
Collections: A:tla





	1. Pinky Promises (Or: The One Where Azula Accuses Lu Ten of Being Mean to Girls)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this modern au, instead of ursa leaving when zuko was ten, and zuko getting his scar at thirteen, zuko got his scar at ten and that's why/when ursa took the kids and left. that's really the biggest difference to the plot, it just starts when they're younger.  
> lots of developing friendships, focusing on when they're young, up through high school.  
> aang, toph, suki, ty lee, and mai will be joining soon, this chapter was just an introduction where we see azula and zuko actually make friends because it’s what they deserve. the rest of the extended gaang will be entering the picture shortly!

It was during the heat of a July evening at dinnertime when Hakoda started to hear loud noises coming from outside, the slamming of van doors and the shouting of kids’ voices.

When Sokka and Katara bolted up from the dinner table to get a look, Hakoda didn’t even try to stop them. It had been a while since kids moved into the neighborhood, and at ages eight and nine respectively, Katara and Sokka were desperate for kids their own age.

It warmed his heart to see them so excited to meet new friends. Ever since their mother passed last year, Katara had closed herself off, and Sokka had in turn lost some friends as he spent time making sure that Katara wasn’t alone. Katara was spending so much time trying to be a little mom, always trying to make breakfast (cereal was getting old, but he truly appreciated the effort) and reminding Hakoda and Sokka to take their shoes off at the door, just like Kya always had. But he wanted them to be _kids_. Losing a parent and grieving so young was hard, he knew that from both his job as a social worker and from personal experience, and he wanted them to have as normal a childhood as possible.

He went to the window where Sokka and Katara were staring, their noses pressed up against the glass. “It’s not polite to stare,” Hakoda tutted.

They pulled back and Sokka whined, “But those are kids our age!”

Katara nodded excitedly. “ _And_ they’re moving into Bato’s old house, Dad, it’s like fate!”

“Can we go and say hi? Please?” Sokka begged.

Hakoda sighed. “It’s late, the sun’s almost down. I’m sure they have lots of unpacking to do.” Katara and Sokka complained, and Hakoda continued, “We can go over and say hi first thing tomorrow, alright? But it’s too late right now. Now, let’s get back to dinner so we can finish that pecan pie Gran-Gran gave us last time she was here.”

The two cheered and rushed back to the table to finish their meal. Hakoda lingered by the window. He saw two small children, around his own kids’ age, the girl was giving orders to a taller man who looked like he could be in college, telling him where to put the boxes in her room, and the man was laughing, clearly used to her antics. ( _A family friend, perhaps?_ He mused. _An eldest brother_?)

Beside the van, unpacking some heavier things, was a stout man with gray hair and a long beard. He had a hearty smile on, and was talking animatedly to the two people sitting by the moving van: a woman that couldn’t be older than Hakoda himself and was assuredly the two youngest children’s mother, and a young boy with long black hair pulled into a ponytail.

When the boy turned to look at the man talking to him, Hakoda held back a gasp. Part of his hair was gone on that side of his head, due to a burn that took over the majority of the left side of his face, covering his eye completely and sneaking its way down his cheek, his ear and part of his scalp having been a victim of it as well. From the way the woman was looked around as if waiting for an attack, and how closely she was holding the boy, they were a family of abuse victims.

Hakoda made a note of it for when they came to visit tomorrow. It would be best to go visit when the family was outside at some point, to make sure they didn’t sneak up and surprise them. Give the family plenty of time to react and escape if they needed to.

He’d have to make sure Katara and Sokka waited just a bit longer to meet the new neighbors.

-

The next day, Hakoda made his two children wait until noon, and they were practically vibrating in their impatience. Katara had even asked to make cookies to bring to the neighbors to fill the time, and when he looked at those big blue eyes shining with excitement, how could he say no?

Right as they were finishing up lunch and the cookies were cooling, Hakoda saw a few members of the family next door go outside and start milling about, the young man he saw earlier going over to the car in the driveway with a toolbox. He told the kids they could go say hi as soon as they finished, and Sokka ate so quickly Hakoda had a few scares where he thought he was going to choke. They hurriedly loaded the dishwasher and put everything away, Hakoda putting together a plate of cookies to bring as well, before the kids rushing outside.

Hakoda stopped them with a firm voice. “You need to be gentler than usual,” Hakoda warned. “Remember, we never know what someone else is going through or why they moved here in the first place. Be nice, and be careful not to overstep any boundaries.”

When the kids nodded, they ran across the yard. It was good that kids were so loud, it made it nearly impossible to startle someone when there were children shouting and barreling across the lawn.

Hakoda approached the mother first, the two children beating him to her. She was holding a few cleaning supplies and standing on the porch. She looked him up and down as if to assess his threat level. Hakoda gave her his friendliest smile before saying, “Hi, I’m Hakoda, this is Sokka and Katara. We’re your neighbors. Katara insisted on a housewarming gift, so we made you cookies.” Katara beamed up at him before turning to the woman with the same smile.

She returned it as she looked at Katara’s face, before hesitantly taking the plate. “That’s very kind, thank you. I’m sure the family will love them, they look delicious.” Katara’s smile got impossibly brighter. “I’m Ursa Sozin. Let me introduce you to everyone.” She turned back into the house’s open door, and called, “Iroh, please come out here and bring the kids, would you?”

There was a shouted response that Hakoda couldn’t make out, but then the stout man from before and the two children were at the door. “Hakoda, this is my brother-in-law, Iroh. And these are my kids, Azula and Zuko,” she said as she pointed to the young girl then boy in turn. He got a better look at the boy’s burn, but he didn’t linger there. He saw enough to know the burn was pretty fresh; not fresh enough to still get infected, but it looked like he had only just recently been allowed to take off the bandages. If he had to guess, this was the reason they had moved; unfortunately it often takes a huge misstep for even the other parent to accept what was happening, and especially for the courts to take abuse cases as seriously as they should be. From the look on Ursa’s face as her eyes rested on her son, it was a mix of both.

“Hello, Azula, Zuko. This is Sokka and Katara. How old are you?”

The girl answered for them. “I’m eight and Zuko’s ten.”

Katara grinned. “We’re the same age! Sokka’s nine.”

Azula nodded stiffly, only giving a slight smirk in return. He recognized this. The golden child and scapegoat. It was common for parental abusers to have a favorite child that they held up and put all their expectations on, and a child that they blamed all their failures on. From the burn, Zuko was clearly the scapegoat, and Azula had been touted as the golden one. He understood perfectly why Azula was behaving in this way; she hadn’t been able to protect Zuko from their father, but now that they had escaped, she could protect him from strangers. It was admirable, and he would have to explain some of this (without going into detail) to Sokka and Katara when they got home as to not make Zuko afraid or Azula angry.

“Why don’t you go play?” Iroh said encouragingly, nudging the two children forward.

“Yeah! We’ve got lots of games!” Sokka declared happily. “We can play with the sidewalk chalk, if you want to set up a hopscotch here or at our house!”

Zuko was staring at the ground, and Azula piped in, “Let’s do it here.”

As Katara and Sokka ran off to their garage to go find some chalk, Azula and Zuko walked over to the driveway to wait. Iroh shouted, “Lu Ten! Come meet the neighbors!”

The young man from earlier popped his head out from under the car, sliding out on a skateboard with a wrench clenched in between his teeth. He stood up and smiled as he jogged over, putting the wrench in one of his pockets, then catching Hakoda in a firm handshake. “Pleased to meet ya, sir.”

Hakoda grinned. “Please, Hakoda is just fine.”

Lu Ten nodded, before he caught sight of the plate of cookies in Ursa’s hands. “Wait, are those M&M cookies?” Iroh laughed as Lu Ten grabbed one and took a large bite, Ursa scoffing but giving the boy a fond look.

“Lu Ten is starting his first year at Ba Sing Se University this fall,” Iroh said proudly.

“Mechanical engineering,” Lu Ten explained as he finished one cookie and snatched another. “Just got a job at the autobody shop down the street, figured I work on this piece of junk enough that I may as well get paid to work on other people’s.”

Iroh gasped. “Don’t talk about her like that!”

“Dad, the car’s thirty years old, it’s a wonder she can move at all.”

“Be nice to her, Lu Ten, that was the car your mother and I had our first kiss in,” Iroh said teasingly.

Lu Ten blanched. “Gross.”

“Do you not like them?”

Lu Ten looked down to where Katara now stood, looking up at him with big watery eyes and holding a huge chalk crayon. He knelt down to her level and declared, “No, no, my dad was just being icky and talking about _kissing_ ,” he said with an overdramatic shudder. “Are you the chef?” When Katara nodded as he held out the cookie, he told her, “These are the _best_ cookies I have ever had in my life.”

Katara’s smile was so bright and large it could rival the sun. “Promise?”

Lu Ten held out his pinky. “I pinky promise.”

Katara gasped at the severity of the situation, and linked her pinky with his as he moved them up and down in a firm shake. With that, she ran back over to the other kids only a few feet away, as Azula and Sokka started to draw a hopscotch board onto the driveway beside where Lu Ten’s car was.

“Good recovery,” Hakoda said with a smirk.

Lu Ten clucked his tongue. “That could’ve been bad. If she started to cry, I never could’ve lived it down to Azula. She always says I’m just a stupid boy who makes girls cry.” When Hakoda gave him a confused look, Lu Ten continued, “You break up with _one_ girl without knowing Azula’s in the next room over, and she never forgives you.”

Hakoda couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him, before Lu Ten stole another cookie and went back to the car.

“So, is there anyone else we should be expecting to meet in your family?” Iroh hinted.

“No, it’s just the three of us,” Hakoda explained. “Although you may see my mother around quite a lot, she only lives a block away. She’s been a godsend ever since my wife passed.”

“Ah, I understand,” Iroh said softly. “I apologize for bringing it up. My wife passed when Lu Ten was about your son’s age. It’s always good to remember that your children, and you, carry your wife with you wherever you go. Nothing can change that.”

Hakoda smiled. “Thank you, Iroh.” Of course, he’d heard that before a hundred times at the funeral, but no one had said it so eloquently before – or perhaps it had just been too fresh then to digest the words.

“So what do you do for work, Hakoda?” Ursa asked as she set the plate down on a small table outside the front door.

“I’m a social worker here in town.”

Ursa seemed surprised, before looking a bit heartbroken, as if she knew the jig was up and their fresh start was going to begin with someone already knowing their great tragedy. “Oh. Do you… D-did you…?” She trailed off.

“I didn’t tell the children after I figured it out if that’s what you’re asking,” Hakoda said comfortingly. “Sokka and Katara won’t treat Azula and Zuko differently than any other kid.”

Ursa nodded grimly, before giving a small smile. “Thank you.”

Unfortunately, Hakoda’s words seemed to be a summoning for a bad omen, because they heard Azula’s shrill shout saying, “Stop looking at him like that!”

They turned to see Azula standing over Sokka and pointing a finger in his face. Ursa and Hakoda rushed over to see what the fuss was about.

Sokka whined, “I was just looking!” He then turned back to Zuko and said, “I just was looking because I wanted to know how it happened!” and pointed at his scar.

“ _Sokka_!” Hakoda scolded. When Zuko flinched, he lowered his voice and said, “That is not something we ask. Now apologize to Zuko.”

“I’m sorry, Zuko,” Sokka told him. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“It’s okay, sir,” Zuko said quietly as his eyes flickered up to Hakoda, and Hakoda realized that this was the first time all day he’d heard the child talk. “I’m not upset, I know it’s ugly.”

“No, it’s not!” Katara defended.

“Yeah, it looks cool,” Sokka said quickly. “I thought maybe you’d have a super cool story, like you crashed a dirtbike, and – and it exploded, but you survived!”

“It shows you survived something, Zuko,” Hakoda tacked on. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Zuko flashed a small, fragile smile, before letting out a soft, “Yeah, okay.”

Ursa beamed at him. Azula sat back down, seemingly accepting Sokka and Katara’s words and recognizing they were no threat to her brother.

“I am sorry, Zuko,” Sokka said. “I won’t bring it up again, I promise.”

Zuko nodded. “It’s okay. Thanks.”

“What are you guys doing tonight?” Katara asked. “Dad just got _Monsters, Inc_. on DVD and it’s my favorite!”

Azula frowned. “We’ve never seen that. Dad didn’t want us to watch childish movies.”

“That’s weird,” Sokka said admonishingly as he drew a rainbow carefully between his feet. “It’s a good movie!” He turned to Hakoda. “Dad? Is it okay if they come over tonight to watch the movie with us?”

Hakoda looked to Ursa, who nodded, and he said, “Of course, everyone is welcome.”

Zuko looked up with one widened golden eye. “Mom? Can we?”

“Yes, after dinner you can go over to Katara and Sokka’s house,” she said. “I’m afraid I’ll have to stay here and unpack, but I’m sure Hakoda will make sure everything is safe and fun.”

Hakoda noticed the way she worded her sentence, emphasis on _safe_ , before Katara clapped. “We’re gonna have so much fun! Dad always makes popcorn, and he puts pretzels and chocolate chips in it! Mom called it ‘movie trail mix.’” After she said the words, Katara frowned slightly.

“It’s a good memory, Katara,” Hakoda supported. “You’re allowed to talk about it.”

Katara nodded slowly, and went back to making the hopscotch. He noticed she had gone to twenty lopsided squares instead of ten, and with the way Azula was outlining things deliberately and explaining why going higher was better, he assumed it was at her encouragement.

Later that night, there were four children in the basement with the lights dimmed, snuggled under two blankets and holding two bowls of movie trail mix. After he started the movie and went back upstairs, he heard Azula say that “Lu Ten wasn’t invited because he’s a jerk to girls” to which Zuko defended his cousin with “Nuh uh! Girls _like_ Lu Ten, don’t be mean to him!”

Hakoda smiled, and left the basement door open a crack. He wanted to be able to hear these conversations as the night continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i hope you guys enjoyed this, i had the idea earlier and i just think it's so sweet to think about the kids becoming friends so young. also fuck ozai, ozai gets no redemption, only azula does because if she had the chance to be good then i believe she would have been. so i guess canon divergence - azula escaped ozai earlier and knew her mom loved her so she knew when she was being abused and controlled by ozai.  
> anyways, i had fun writing this, it's only got a few chapters so hopefully this will be done pretty quick. please leave your thoughts below if you feel like it!  
> \- tay


	2. Orphans Are Good Friends (Or: The One When Gyatso Moved in Across the Street with his Foster Kid)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gyatso, a therapist at the Social Work office, mentions that he's looking to move with his new foster child.  
> The foster child becomes a bit more of a permanent fixture in all of their lives, and they wouldn't change it for anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! wow, thanks so much for such an overwhelming response to the first chapter. i decided to push up writing this chapter, i was so excited!  
> i have another ATLA story i'm writing as well though, so i won't be able to update every day like i am now, and if you guys want to check out that one, hopefully you'd like that one too! it's a good old fashioned pirates au, because i think it's very cool and sexy for sokka to be a bisexual pirate captain.  
> this may end up becoming five chapters instead of four, i haven't figured it all out yet, but for all the chapters after this one, it'll be junior high and high school experiences for the gaang.  
> i hope you guys enjoy this! thanks for reading!

As the kids grew, so did the neighborhood. A few more families had moved in and out of the area, but the Sozin family remained constant, in the house right beside Hakoda’s home, and he couldn’t be more grateful. The four kids got along famously, and he was so happy to see his children having made such good friends.

When school had first started, he knew how afraid Ursa was that people would make fun of or reject Zuko because of his scar, but it quickly became clear that none of their kids were going to let that happen. Hakoda and Ursa got a call from the office about a week into the school year, where the principal told them that Sokka, Katara and Azula had attacked someone and one of them had broken his nose – Ursa and Hakoda both had a feeling it was Azula. When they asked what for, the principal had told them that someone had made fun of Zuko. It was unspoken what they had made fun of.

The student was suspended for fighting and for bullying, but Sokka, Katara, Zuko, and Azula would have to be suspended as well. (Why Zuko was in trouble, they couldn’t tell you.) But the two parents agreed it was worth it. Although they did have to sit them all down later that night and explain that “violence was not the answer” and that “you need to use your words to defend your friends” but the kids could tell that it was an act. They were proud of their kids for standing up against a bully, so they weren’t punished too harshly.

It was a crisp November day, over four years after the Sozin family moved in, and he was talking to a therapist at the office. Dr. Tenzin Gyatso (“Please, just Gyatso,” he would say with a smile) mentioned to Hakoda that he was looking for a new place closer to work, since he lived a few towns over. Gyatso had previously had two foster children, Bumi and Kuzon, but they were both adopted when they were about eight, and he had gotten a new foster child. Apparently, the kid had been bouncing around the system since before he could crawl, and it made Hakoda’s heart ache.

Hakoda had once wanted to foster kids – but that was before Kya died. He and Kya had met over foster kids, after all. He was fresh on the job, only a few years of experience, when he came to see a couple of kids in the midst of a particularly nasty case that left two young girls beaten, and he’d gone to take the kids somewhere neutral until the courts could figure out what had happened, and that’s when he saw her – a nurse, singing a little song to one of the girls to tame her sniffles as she wrapped up a sprained wrist, before kissing it over the gauze and declaring, “Good as new! You’re so brave.”

Hakoda would never forget that moment. She had taken his breath away. He still wanted to foster kids, sure, but after Kya died, it didn’t feel right. Not because a single parent couldn’t foster kids on their own, but because he didn’t feel like he could properly be there for another child as he and his own children were struggling with grief. Maybe someday, but for now, it was best to let those dreams rest for a while.

Hakoda had informed Gyatso that the place across the street had just gone on the market, and the family was eager to sell, so he would be able to be moved in quickly if he liked the house. So, after Gyatso came to the house to check it out, a hand clasped warmly on the shoulder of a small boy, he had come over to tell Hakoda they had made an offer, and they expected the owners to take it.

It was only a few weeks before Gyatso and the boy were moved in. Hakoda invited them for a nice fall barbeque, insisting that they should meet the neighbors. Gyatso had agreed, but only on the terms that he would bring the food for himself and his foster child, stating they were both vegetarians.

When they came to Hakoda’s backyard, he could see the apprehension in the young boy’s face. His gray eyes were flickering around anxiously. Hakoda whistled and gestured for the four kids to come over from where they were playing.

“Aang, say hello,” Gyatso encouraged.

“Hi,” the kid said with the beginnings of a grin tugging at his lips.

“Hi, Aang!” Katara declared, probably a bit too loud, but she was excited from the game of tag they’d just been playing. “I’m Katara. This is Sokka, Azula, and Zuko!” She took it upon herself to introduce everyone. “Where did you move from?”

“Omashu,” Aang told her, a shy smile starting to grow. “I have to start at a new school on Monday, I’m kind of scared.”

“Don’t be scared, we’ll be at the same school,” Sokka said happily. “We can all hang out together at recess!”

Aang beamed. “Really? You’d let me hang out with you?”

“Why wouldn’t we?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay,” Aang giggled out with that giant smile plastered on his face.

“What grade are you in?” Zuko asked, pushing long hair out of his face, letting the boy see his scar. “I’m in eighth, Sokka’s in seventh, Katara and Azula are in sixth.”

“I’m in fifth grade. I’m turning eleven in a few months!” Aang added. He seemed not to have even noticed the scar, which Azula noted immediately. She knew Zuko had only said something to draw attention to himself, to gauge the boy’s reaction to seeing the mark that marred his face. But he didn’t seem to notice at all. It was strange, but she approved.

“That’s fun, what are you going to do for your birthday?” Azula asked. Aang had been given the all-clear by Azula, so the others seemed to relax around him even more.

Aang’s smile dropped as his eyebrows drew together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Like are you going to have a party? Zuko’s birthday was back in August, we had pizza and sodas and games, and then we watched some movies – Uncle Iroh even surprised him with a bouncy castle!” Sokka declared with fondness.

“I’ve never had a birthday party before.”

Katara gasped. The horror of this revalation was not something she was going to tolerate. “Dad!” she shouted. She grabbed Aang’s hand and rushed them over the few feet to where the adults stood by the grill, where Hakoda had started on the veggie burgers first. Gyatso and Iroh were having a rousing discussion about a board game called Pai Sho, but everyone went quiet at Katara’s voice.

“What is it, princess?”

“Aang says he’s never had a birthday party! And his birthday is coming up!” She cried.

Aang was blushing and shy behind her, and she held onto his hand tighter, as he said, “It’s no big deal, I didn’t even know people celebrated that stuff. We never did at the monastery.”

Gyatso said, “I know you spent a few years with the monks, but I think that you deserve to have some fun. We must fix this as once. How about we plan an extra special party?”

Aang’s eyes widened. “You mean it?” When Gyatso nodded, he rushed forward and threw his arms around the legs of the elder man, shouting out a pleased, “Thank you!”

Gyatso chuckled. “Go have some fun, play some games. We’ll plan a party later, how about that?”

“Can Katara help?” Aang asked, looking at the girl with a big smile, which she returned.

“I don’t see why not.”

At Gyatso’s words, the two kids cheered and ran over to the others, clamoring to come up with a fun things to do at the party.

Gyatso looked at Aang and saw the way his eyes were bright and his smile wide. He couldn’t stop the smile he wore as well.

-

One year and four months later, on Aang’s twelfth birthday, over a breakfast of pancakes and fruit pies, Gyatso asked Aang if he would like it if Gyatso adopted him. Aang had cried and cried and hugged him and cried some more. For the first time in his life he had a _father_. He had _friends_. He couldn’t see how it could get any better.

Somehow, it still did.

It was a Friday, so he still had to go to school, but everyone was coming over tonight for his birthday party and he couldn’t be more excited. He remembered that today was when the seating got rearranged for class, and when he looked for his new spot, he didn’t recognize the name for who his new tablemate was. That’s okay though, he didn’t have any friends in his grade really, he’d had Bumi and Kuzon, but they were back in Omashu, so he didn’t get to see them as much anymore.

He walked over to his new seat, and saw a girl wearing brown and green, a cane on the edge of the desk. “Hi!” He said chipperly. “I’m Aang.”

“Yeah, hiya, Twinkletoes,” she scoffed as she continued to read the bumps on the book in front of her. It took Aang a minute to realize she was blind. The girl must have noticed it, because she snapped, “I can _feel_ you looking at me.”

“I’m sorry,” Aang told her quickly as he sat down. “It’s just been years since I saw braille up close. I learned how to read a bit of it when I was at the monastery, but I wasn’t very good, and I’ve probably forgotten most of it by now.”

She got a weird look on her face. “Well, uh… okay. Sorry then. For yelling.”

“It’s okay, I probably deserved it.”

When Aang laughed at his own words, the girl’s lips quirked up in a soft sort of way. “I’m Toph, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Toph. I guess we’re gonna be partners for the next few months then.”

“Yeah, but don’t think you need to help me or anything. I can take care of myself,” she told him defensively.

“I didn’t think you couldn’t,” Aang replied with a shrug. “But it’s okay to ask, if you need it. I’ll ask for help if I need it too, if that’s okay.”

Toph was quiet for a moment, seeming to ponder his words, before saying, “Yeah, that’s okay.”

They sat and talked for a bit longer before class started. Aang learned throughout that class period as they started to do work, Toph was more than capable on her own. She really was being honest when she said she didn’t need his help. (That doesn’t mean he still didn’t offer it sometimes though.)

When the bell rang, they both stood, and Toph grabbed her cane. “I know this might sound crazy,” Aang started. “But I’m having a birthday party tonight. Would you want to come?”

“Really?” Toph’s voice was guarded, but her tone revealed a cheeriness he had yet to hear from her. Then her voice returned to normal. “This isn’t a pity thing, is it?”

“Toph, I don’t think anyone who really knows you would think to pity you.”

She smirked. “You’re damn right.” He got her home phone number, and said he’d call later that afternoon for more details and to give her his address. Aang smiled as they walked to their next classes together before they had to separate. He liked Toph. She was nice, once you got beneath that rocky exterior. And she was strong and cool. He admired her. And he hoped his friends would like her as much as he did.

-

Later that evening after school, Katara had called just as he hung up the phone with Toph and asked if they could bring a few more friends over, and he agreed, after quickly checking in with Gyatso. When Katara and Sokka came over, each holding a present, there were two other friends with them.

Aang smiled and ran over to them. “Hey, guys!”

Everyone smiled back, and Sokka began with, “Hey, so these are some new friends! I don’t know if you’ve seen them around school or not, but this is Suki and Yue,” he said as he pointed to two girls, one with a brunette bob and the other with stark white hair, in turn.

“Hi, thanks for coming!” Aang said, gesturing for them to follow him into the house.

“Thanks for having us,” Yue told him graciously. “And happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” Aang was becoming increasingly aware of how much they’d just said thanks to each other. He elected to ignore it.

Soon, Azula and Zuko came, Ursa, Hakoda and Iroh following behind them – as well as an unexpected visitor. “Lu Ten!” Aang cried as he launched himself towards the college graduate.

The man caught him with a laugh. “How ya doin’ buddy? Having a good birthday?”

“I can’t believe you made it!”

“How could I miss it? Besides, I heard you got some good news this morning,” Lu Ten told him with a pat on the head, rubbing at his short fuzzy hair as the group walked inside.

“What news?” Zuko asked.

Aang smiled wide. “Gyatso is officially adopting me!”

His friends cheered and ran forward to give him a hug, including Yue and Suki.

“Am I – uh… interrupting something?” They turned to see Toph at the still wide-open front door. “Is… should I leave? This seems maybe private.”

“No,” Aang rushed to say as he got closer to her and led her inside so he could close the door. “You belong here. Let me introduce you to everyone!”

Toph beamed, but looked like she was trying to hide it. She even let Aang lead her by the arm to everyone so they could all be introduced. Suki was on the school’s karate team, and Toph was really excited to hear about that. Toph told her about how she wanted to try out for the team when she finally got to junior high, but was nervous that they wouldn’t let her because she was blind.

“Just hit whoever tells you that in the knads,” Suki told her.

“You’re my hero,” Toph said, choking up. She stayed by the high schooler’s side for the better part of the night.

When it came time for presents, he kept saying, “You didn’t need to get me anything” to each gift that he was handed. He didn’t think he’d ever had this many presents in all his life combined. Gyatso gave him his own cell phone, he couldn’t believe it! Sokka joked that he was jealous since his own screen was cracked, and Sokka quickly got his number and sent it to everyone else’s phones. Then Gyatso whispered that he had a special gift for later when everyone else was gone, and Aang was so excited. If the public gift was a _smartphone_ , he couldn’t imagine what could top it.

Zuko had joked that his gift was “in a few months when I get my license, I’ll drive you to school” but then handed him a carefully packaged item from his favorite store. When Iroh went to hand Aang his present, Aang said “you give me free tea at the Jasmine Dragon all the time, I don’t want another gift” but eventually Aang relented against Iroh’s determination.

When he opened Katara’s gift, he let out a gasp. “How did you get this?” He pulled out a white knitted beanie with a blue arrow stitched into it, pointing to the space between his eyebrows.

“I did some research on that monastery you grew up in, and I saw that the blue arrow was their symbol, and Gran-Gran’s been teaching me how to knit, and… do you like it?” Katara ended nervously.

Aang lunged at her and enveloped her in a hug. “It’s perfect. Thank you.” Katara smiled and kissed him on the cheek, and his face flushed red. He hurriedly put it on. “That monastery was the first place I met Gyatso,” he turned to the man with a smile. “That’s why it’s so special to me.”

Suki and Yue let out a collective “awe” and Sokka mimed puking until Suki elbowed him in the gut so hard he actually dry heaved.

Later that night, after everyone had gone home, Sokka had started a group chat for Aang, himself, Katara, Azula and Zuko, and named it “Neighborhood G(aang)” then a larger one that also included Toph, Suki, and Yue that he called “Yu Crew” which Yue didn’t find as funny as he did and made him change it, and he renamed it to “Bad Bitches” which Toph thought was the funniest thing, especially since the first time she messaged, Sokka asked how she was typing, and she got to slam him with a “Sokka, you ignorant slut, talk to text exists.” If Sokka knew anything about Toph from the few hours he’s known her, he knew he’d never live it down. (He was right.)

“Are you ready for your last gift?” Gyatso asked with a smile, gesturing to a big box he had just set out while Aang had put his presents in his room.

Aang laughed. “I don’t see how anything could compare to everything I’ve gotten today.” Gyatso knew he wasn’t talking about the phone.

“Well, I wouldn’t be so sure,” he said smugly as Aang went over to the box.

The box moved and a soft “boof” echoed throughout the room.

Aang’s eyes widened, looking back and forth between a grinning Gyatso and the box. “ _No way_.”

“Well, I know you said you never got to have a pet…” Gyatso let the words linger as Aang opened the box’s flaps, and a small dog burst from it and jumped at him. Aang laughed and held the dog tight. It was a puppy, a white fluffball with a brown streak from its tail to its head. His muzzle reminded him of Gyatso’s beard, which only made Aang laugh more.

“So you like him?”

“ _Like_ him?” Aang gasped out in between giggles as the dog licked his face. “I _love_ him. He’s the best boy! Yes, you are, aren’t you, Appa?”

“Appa?”

“Yeah, it means dad in Korean. And look at his beard! He looks like you, like my dad!” Aang stopped. “I – I can call you dad, right?”

Gyatso resisted the urge to cry. “You can call me anything you want.”

Gyatso secretly hoped Aang would decide to call him dad.

The next morning, Aang woke up and greeted him with a cheery “morning, dad!” as he carried Appa into the room and immediately went over to feed him. Aang laughed as Appa got too excited drinking water and dunked his whole muzzle in.

Gyatso had never felt so whole.


	3. Lovers (Or: The One When Hakoda is Sure That Zuko and Katara Have a Crush on Each Other)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakoda helps his son mourn a loss in his sophomore year, then ponders about the close relationship his daughter has with one of Ursa's kids.  
> Sokka gets inspired when one of his friends come out. Like everything else he tended to do in his love life, he went with his gut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're in the endgame now. the last two chapters covered a whole lot of years, this one and the following will only be covering one year. they're all in high school now, and they're lovable little babies who are kinda gay and kinda love each other a whole lot because found family that is mixed with biological family is just *chef kiss* i love them so much.  
> this chapter does get pretty heavy. it talks a lot about death, and then coming out. i don't know how much of that is a trigger, but i figured i should warn you anyways if you were expecting a bit more lightheartedness.  
> the story's almost over, but i'm so excited to have written this!  
> anyways, please let me know your thoughts, and as always, thanks for reading!  
> \- t

Sokka was fourteen when he met Yue. He had become friends with her a few months before Aang’s twelfth birthday party, and it was love at first sight. He normally wouldn’t believe in that kind of stuff, there’s no proof that something like that even exists, after all – but he saw her and his heart clenched and it felt like he had been struck by lightning. It couldn’t have been anything but love.

He was fifteen when she accepted his request for a date. It was six months after he met her that he finally worked up the nerve to ask her out. It was three months into the relationship when he told her he loved her.

He was sixteen when she died.

First love strikes hard, and it strikes quick. And it pained Hakoda to see his son in such distress. After Yue was diagnosed with a deadly auto-immune disorder, Hakoda knew it would go quick. He just hoped it wouldn’t be too painful for her. Yue was a wonderful girlfriend, a wonderful friend – but most importantly, a wonderful person. And she didn’t deserve to go that way.

She had deteriorated fast. She soon couldn’t walk on her own for long stretches of time, then she couldn’t go to school anymore, and suddenly she couldn’t even get out of bed. Sokka hadn’t even had time to process it, still fully entrenched in the denial phase of his grief. Two months after she had been diagnosed, she was struggling to breath, and had been hooked up to a ventilator for two weeks. Sokka was on one side of her hospital bed, her parents on the other. Yue had let out a breathy sigh, and looked from Sokka to her parents, as she said, “Everything’s going to be alright.”

Before Sokka could say anything, she closed her eyes, and she was gone. Nurses and doctors rushed in at the beeping noise, but there was nothing to be done. As they covered her body with a sheet and pronounced time of death, Arnook and his wife stepped outside, her mother sobbing, and he steered her away, presumably so they could grieve somewhere privately. Sokka was crying. Hakoda hadn’t seen Sokka cry since he was eleven. Those past few months, ever since she was diagnosed, he’d still never seen Sokka cry like this. The last time he could remember it was when Kya died.

Hakoda had held his son close as he let out gut-wrenching cries of grief he’d never wanted to hear again, Katara letting the tears fall as she held Sokka’s hand. The funeral was small, and it was held during the evening, so they could watch the moon come up. Yue always said how much she loved the moon, how beautiful she thought it was. Arnook had said that he hoped she was up there, that she finally got to see the moon.

Sokka knew it was true. It had to be.

For the two months following her passing, Sokka was completely closed off, which they allowed him – until he stopped getting up for dinner, then it was any meal. The day after this development, Zuko had burst into his room and said, “You’re hurting all of us, Sokka. Please, you need to get up and eat something.”

Zuko had let Sokka scream at him (“ _Hurting? How much do you think Yue was hurting?!_ ”) until he was reduced to a blubbering mess of tears, because once all the anger was out, all that was left was sadness. Zuko let Sokka bury his head into his chest and cry it out. An hour after Zuko had gone to Sokka’s room, they came down for dinner. Hakoda and Katara had nearly been reduced to tears at the fact that Zuko had managed to get him down.

It was five months without Yue, when Sokka slowly started to return to normal. He was hesitant and didn’t want to do anything for a long time unless he was forced to, but eventually his friends and family pulled him back into what was almost his former self.

It was seven months after her death that Sokka started to hang out with all his friends as a group again. Until recently they’d all given him space and approached him in smaller groups, afraid that seeing every member of their group of friends _except_ Yue would make him backslide. They talked about the school year starting soon, and Sokka was avoiding it. He didn’t want to talk about going into junior year without Yue. Zuko had touched Sokka’s arm and changed the subject, and they began doing other activities around the living room.

That was the same day that Hakoda noticed a shift.

Azula, Aang, and Sokka were all playing Mario Kart, and Azula was dominating, to the point where Sokka was whining like a toddler about how she must be cheating somehow. (Hakoda didn’t comment on the fact that she got second place the next round on purpose, and let Sokka accuse her of “losing her touch” with minimal eye rolling.) Toph, who had made the karate team after following Suki’s tutelage, was hanging onto Suki’s advice with every breath.

But it was Katara and Zuko he was staring at. Katara was painting Zuko’s nails black, something that Zuko was pretending that he hated, even though he had a twinkle in his eyes that made in impossible to deny he enjoyed it. Zuko was speaking to her in hushed tones, and she giggled back something as she cleaned up the painted nails.

He had never really seen Zuko with another girl, besides the girls in his group of friends. Was there a reason for this? Was Katara the reason? Or was he just overthinking it?

He decided to pay closer attention to their interactions, and amended to bring it up to Ursa and Iroh the next day when they had Sunday tea, a longtime tradition that had started when they had first moved to the neighborhood.

Hakoda wasn’t a big fan of tea, but Iroh had owned his own tea shop for a few years now, and it was legendary around town, so he made an exception.

“So,” he began one day as Ursa set up a pai sho board for them, Iroh and Gyatso already beginning their game at another table across the room. “I’ve noticed something about our kids… they seem to be getting… _close_.”

Ursa raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Yes, they’ve always been close.”

“No, I mean two of them seem to be getting close romantically,” he elaborated.

Ursa smiled. “Ah, yes.”

“So you’ve noticed it too?” Hakoda asked, relieved that it wasn’t just him.

“Of course,” she said as she made the first move on the pai sho board. “Azula and Sokka have been spending a lot of time together without the rest of the group, I figured they might be dating.”

Okay, so they were definitely _not_ on the same page.

“That’s not it,” Hakoda immediately contradicted. “Sokka hasn’t moved on from Yue, I don’t think he’d start dating yet.”

“Perhaps you’re right that Sokka isn’t ready, I do think Azula may like him though. I doubt she’d bring it up though, Yue was a friend to all of them. I overheard Azula and Suki talking about it at girls night on Saturday.” Ursa paused to look up at him. “Don’t tell them I was eavesdropping because I _wasn’t_ , I was going to the kitchen and happened to overhear.”

“Sure, yeah, of course,” Hakoda said with a smirk.

“The girls were talking about Suki’s crush, but how she’d never bring it up. Suki said it would feel like a betrayal to Yue – she was her best friend, I don’t know if that’s a feeling she’ll ever fully be able to shake unfortunately. Maybe years from now, but definitely not before they graduate.”

Hakoda nodded in agreement. “I agree. Sokka probably wouldn’t be able to deal with it so soon anyways, and Suki knows this. He needs time, and none of us want him to go back to how he was after the funeral.”

Ursa shivered at the reminder. It was a dark time for all of them. The gray clouds had seemingly spread over all the kids in the neighborhood in the few weeks following Yue’s death. They were friends, and they all took it hard. Toph had stayed near them at all times, usually at Suki’s house or in Katara’s room. Azula had tried to close herself off, but Katara and Zuko hadn’t let her. They couldn’t deal with two people shutting down like that. Aang had clung to them all like a koala, growing fearful when someone didn’t text him back quickly enough and no one else had heard from them.

Ursa had a vivid memory of him sneaking into Zuko’s window one night and crying because Zuko and Azula hadn’t talked to any of them all day and he was so scared that something had happened. (“ _I can’t lose anyone else,_ ” Aang had choked out, and Zuko had pulled him close, saying, “ _I’m not going anywhere. None of us are_.”) Ursa had gone to Zuko’s room to see what the noise was, but she simply closed the door quietly after seeing it was just Aang. They didn’t need to know that she saw them having such a private moment.

But no matter how hard the group of friends took it as a whole, it was nothing compared to Sokka. Ursa knew how seeing him in such a state had nearly made everyone crumble. He had always been their glue, the person who brought so many of them together, and to have him gone nearly destabilized them, they were lost without him. Hakoda had told her how Katara had taken to sleeping in Sokka’s bed so she would be there when he had nightmares, just like how he had done for her after their mother’s death, and she had done it every night for two weeks. Aang would come over in the mornings and try to drag him out of bed, promising breakfast. (“ _Come on, I’ll even make_... _bacon_ ,” Aang had shuddered, but he was willing to deal with the guilt he’d feel if it meant Sokka would get up.)

Suki would go into his room unannounced and they would talk about Yue for hours, try as they both might to get the sadness out of their systems. Toph would hold his hand when it got shaky. It was often Zuko who would be the only one to pull him out of his depression to force him to do things, and he normally took the brunt of Sokka’s anger because of this.

It was hard to see them like that, because as a parent she felt like she needed to help them, but there was nothing she could do. They had to grieve, and she couldn’t stop it, so she just had to remind them that she was there. It didn’t feel like enough though.

“Besides, I was actually talking about Katara and Zuko.”

Ursa blinked twice at her friend’s words. “What?”

“You don’t see it?”

“No, I don’t,” Ursa said with a shrug. “I don’t think Katara’s his type.”

“…And what do you mean by that?” There was a slight tone of offense to his words.

Iroh took the initiative and piped in, “Katara’s a wonderful girl, but I don’t think Zuko is interested in anyone romantically at the moment. He’s very busy, he’s about to start his senior year, he’s focused on his college applications.”

Hakoda pursed his lips and looked back at the pai sho board. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Iroh gave a sly smile when Ursa looked at him. Hakoda will figure it out eventually, they figured, but it was up to Zuko who he wanted to tell his little secret to.

-

Sokka groaned as he flopped down on Zuko’s couch in the living room. “This sucks.”

Zuko rolled his eyes as he set down his backpack on the table, as gently as he could considering all the textbooks weighing it down. Their first quarter was already up, and they had a large project due at the end of the semester that would account for forty percent of their grade. Sokka wasn’t taking it very well. “What, getting stuck with me for our project?”

“No, just the project in general. Seriously, a twenty minute presentation? That’s cruel and unusual punishment, and Mr. Piandao knows it!” Sokka exclaimed dramatically.

“What’s this about a project?” Ursa asked as she came into the room, heading for the kitchen.

“Mr. Piandao assigned us a huge project,” Sokka complained. “We had no warning!”

“It was on the syllabus,” Zuko whispered conspiratorially to his mother.

Sokka gasped. “You _know_ I don’t read those!”

“This is your own fault then.”  
  


“I like to be surprised. The procrastination keeps me humble.”

Zuko rolled his eyes and was about to mock him a bit, when Azula walked in. She looked nervous, and had two girls following her, staying a bit back. One had her hair in a braid and a wide smile on her face, the other had black hair and a frown. They looked like complete opposites next to each other, but from the way they were standing, their shoulders touching, Ursa could tell they were close.

“Mom?” Azula began. “I have to tell you something and I need you to let me get the whole thing out. And I only didn’t tell you before now because I was nervous and I know I have no reason to be because you’re not dad and you would never hurt me and – ”

“Azula, please take a breath,” Ursa said soothingly.

At her mother’s words, she sucked in a deep breath and let it out again. “Okay. Mom, I’m a lesbian.” She didn’t bother to let the words settle before she continued, “And these are my girlfriends, Mai and Ty Lee – like, romantic girlfriends.”

Ursa didn’t hesitate though. “Thank you for telling me, Azula. It’s nice to meet you both,” she finished with a smile as she looked at the two girls by the door still. The one with black hair had a hand reaching for the door, like she was waiting in case this went sideways and they had to make a quick escape. She lowered her hand.

“Hi!” The other girl said cheerfully, rushing towards Ursa, holding out her hand for a shake. “I’m Ty Lee! It’s so great to finally meet you! That’s Mai, she hasn’t told her parents yet so I think she’s nervous – ”

“Ty Lee,” the girl, Mai, let out in a sigh.

“Sorry.” She turned back to Ursa. “They always tell me I talk too much and end up saying things they weren’t ready to talk about.”

“I think it’s refreshing,” Ursa assured the girl. “Are you planning on staying for dinner?”

“Wait.” Azula had seemed too shocked to respond. “You’re… you’re okay with this? All of it?”

“Azula, you’re my daughter, I’m going to love you no matter what,” Ursa told her as she walked over to her youngest. “I’m just sorry I didn’t make you feel safe enough for you to want to tell me sooner.”

Azula launched herself at her mother and wrapped her arms around her waist, before whispering into Ursa’s shoulder, “I just wasn’t ready. It wasn’t you, I promise.”

Ursa pet her daughter’s hair and smiled into the hug. Azula hadn’t hugged her like this in years, she could only assume it was Ty Lee’s influence – or perhaps it was the lightness Azula must feel now that she was no longer carrying this burdensome secret.

Her eyes flickered to Zuko, who was smiling.

Meanwhile, Sokka was confused. Ursa had accepted it? Just like that? He hadn’t even considered telling his friends, let alone his _father_ about himself yet. He was too nervous. Not because his dad was homophobic, far from it, but he just assumed he wouldn’t come out until college, it seemed like the logical thing to do. But there’s only a year and a half until graduation anyways… he was almost seventeen… should he just tell him, get it over with? Azula looked so at ease, and her eyes held no fear like they had when she walked in the door. She seemed at peace, and Sokka wanted that too.

Azula’s girlfriends stayed for dinner, Ursa had asked Sokka to join but he insisted on going home. He told Zuko he’d see him the next morning for school, and ran across the yard back to his house. When he opened the door, his dad was in the kitchen cooking. He threw his backpack to the side.

“What’s the rush, son?” Hakoda asked as he watched Sokka huff for a few seconds to try and catch his breath.

“Dad, I’m bisexual,” he hurriedly let out.

“Okay, that’s great, more options, you know?” Hakoda said with a laugh. He clapped Sokka on the shoulder.

“What is _with_ you people?” Sokka groaned. “Azula just came out to her mom and brought home two girlfriends – _two_ of them, dad, I didn’t know Azula had that much game! – and Ursa didn’t even do much, she didn’t yell or – or anything!”

“Would you like me to yell?” Hakoda asked, cocking his eyebrow.

“No, that’s not the point. I just – I never even thought about telling you before I graduated because I was scared things would change, I only realized it a few years after mom died and I didn’t want to do anything that would disrupt our family since we were still so fragile, and then Azula just _did it_ and Ursa didn’t care and she was so happy afterwards that I thought – I just – ”

“Sokka,” Hakoda said firmly, holding both of Sokka’s shoulders in his hands, forcing his son to look at him. “I just want you to be happy. You telling me this isn’t going to change anything between us, I promise.”

Sokka felt his eyes well up with tears. “I love you.”

Hakoda pulled him in close. “I love you, too.”

They embraced for a moment, and Hakoda kissed the top of his head. Sokka mumbled, “Now I just have to figure out how to tell Katara.”

Hakoda was shocked, and reeled back a little, releasing Sokka from his hug. “You told me before you told your sister?”

Sokka shrugged. “I haven’t told anyone.”

Hakoda pulled him back into his arms and had to fight back tears himself. He figured Sokka would have at least told Katara, even if this was a whim decision based on what he saw at the Sozin household, but the fact that he trusted him enough to be the first person he told was enough to make a grown man cry. (And he did.)

Sokka relaxed into his father’s hold. He wondered if this was what Azula felt like. So happy, so calm, like a weight he didn’t even know was there had just been lifted off his shoulders.

“You know,” Hakoda said, chuckling. “Ursa thought a few months ago that you and Azula were dating.”

Sokka scoffed as he stepped back. “Well, clearly I’m not her type.”

Hakoda thought back on those words. Isn’t that exactly what Ursa had said when he brought up Katara and Zuko?

_I don’t think Katara’s his type_ , she had said with a knowing look. He decided to dismiss it. Who his kids wanted to date was none of his concern, and he was so sure that Katara and Zuko were interested in each other… right?

Sokka picked his bookbag back up and took it to his room. He felt like he could skip down the hall and prance in a bed of daisies.

Sokka had never felt so seen, so _free_. And an unbidden swell of hope in his chest built up as an image of Zuko appeared in his mind.


	4. Prom (Or: The One When Ozai Tries to Come Back Into the Picture and then Zuko Realizes That He Needs to Tell Someone How He Feels)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko climbs in through Sokka's window one night, crying, and it evolves into Zuko telling Sokka about the events that led to his father burning his face.  
> Zuko plucks up the courage to ask the age old question: Will you go to prom with me?  
> All throughout, Hakoda fundamentally misunderstands who his children are dating, until he doesn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! so this is the end, i'm really happy to have written this, thanks so much for all the support, it really means so much, your comments have made my days this past week so much brighter, especially since i only started writing this because i was having a rough time.  
> this chapter talks a lot about child abuse, so that's something to be aware of. it's very angsty, then it gets fluffy at the end because ZUKO DESERVES HAPPINESS DAMMIT.  
> anyways, if you guys want to keep in touch with me, i have a few other stories on my page, one that's currently in progress, and i post one-shots every so often. i have an instagram where i post avatar edits as well, it's @avat.ays if you are interested in those too, i'd love to hear from you guys still! don't be strangers!  
> thank you so much for reading, and enjoy the final chapter!  
> \- t

Sokka was awoken by a sliding sound, and a loud thud. He immediately turned towards the noise, to see his window open, a body on the floor beside it. He grabbed anything to defend himself – in this case, a water bottle. He was ready to launch it when he saw the face of the body crumpled on the floor.

“Zuko? What are you doing here? Why are you crawling in through my window?”

Zuko stood up. “You didn’t answer my texts.”

Sokka looked at his phone. It was three in the morning, and he had twelve texts from Zuko. Sokka glanced up at him. “So you decided the next course of action was to break into my room? How did you even get up here anyways?”

“I – I climbed the trellis? No, okay, you’re right, I should go, I – I just – ”

Zuko stepped back as Sokka turned on the lamp on his nightstand. Sokka could see red-rimmed eyes and puffy cheeks. His eyebrows drew together in concern. “Wait, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

A simple sentence seemed to break the dam. “I – yeah,” Zuko choked out as he started crying again. “My dad found us.”

Sokka’s eyes widened. “But you guys have a restraining order, right? Sit down,” he added as he grabbed Zuko’s hand and had him sit beside him on the bed. He didn’t really care that his hair was a mess and he was half-naked, Zuko was crying in his room and that took precedent.

“You don’t know my dad. We have all these lawyers and restraining orders but if he finds a way to get around all of that…” Zuko took a shaky breath. “He wants to take Azula back. He can’t try and get custody of me since I’m already eighteen, but even if I wasn’t, I don’t think he’d want me back anyways. But he can’t have Azula, she’s so much better now, and I can’t let him have her.”

“How can he possibly try and get custody rights? It was an abuse case, he was found guilty, that’s why he lost custody in the first place.”

Zuko laughed mirthlessly. “He’s claiming that our mom was negligent for letting it happen in the first place.”

Sokka sat there with his jaw dropped. He was silent for thirty seconds before he said, “You’re joking.”

“I wish I was. My dad’s a powerful guy, he’s got some of the best lawyers in the country, and if there’s even the smallest chance he could win…”

“I’ll go wake up dad, we can talk about this.” Sokka stood up. His father dealt with this all the time, he’d know what to do in a situation like this, Sokka was sure of it.

“No, please, don’t!” Zuko grabbed his hand and stopped him. “I don’t want to tell anyone else yet. Mom and Uncle are gonna come over tomorrow anyways about it, but I just – I needed to talk to you.”

Sokka sat back down, and Zuko kept holding his hand. “Okay,” he whispered. “How are you feeling?”

Zuko shook his head. “I feel awful. I’m so scared. Azula used to be – much worse. I know she’s kind of closed off, but she still cares about people. She – she didn’t much back then. Mom spent so much time trying to protect me from him, that Azula thought mom didn’t love her. So she clung to Ozai to try and get that love and acceptance. But he didn’t give it. He doesn’t love anything, anyone.” Zuko was shaking. “He used her, he thought she was the perfect child, but she was only like that because of the pressure he put on her. And he turned us against each other, it took until after the court case was even over for Azula to talk to me and mom again. She hated us, told us that we were taking her away from dad, and that it wasn’t her fault that he loved her the most.”

Sokka frowned. “But, what about…?”

“The scar? She didn’t believe us during court when we said that he did it. She thought we were out to get him, that’s exactly what he taught her to do. It took until the case was over for her to realize that he had actually done it. She ran over to dad and said that she wouldn’t leave him, but then he… He was so angry that he had lost the case, and he yelled at her. He _never_ yelled at Azula, not once. Azula was so scared. It was the same look of fear I always got when I looked at him. So she ran back to us and dad was still yelling, and then we left. And on the drive here, right when we moved, she told me that she’d protect me next time. Mom kept telling her there wouldn’t be a next time, but she wasn’t convinced.” Zuko was quiet for a moment, before adding, “This is next time.”

“She’s not going to do anything. She’s got a good life here, she knows this. She’s got girlfriends, us, a good relationship with your mom, there’s no way she’d go back to him.”

“She would if she thought it would protect me. She blamed herself for our father’s abuse, and no matter how much I tell her that it’s not, she thinks it’s her fault that I got burned. That somehow she could have stopped it, or that if she had done something differently, he wouldn’t have scarred me.”

Sokka was sitting on his left, and was examining the rough skin around his eye, covering his ear and crawling down his neck. He’d known that Ozai was the reason Zuko got his scar, but he’d never wanted to bring up why or how it happened. It must certainly be Zuko’s most painful memory, and he wasn’t going to dig up old wounds.

However, it seemed Zuko had noticed where the blue eyes were drawn. “I never told you why he did it, did I?” he whispered softly.

Sokka shook his head. “You don’t have to. I know it’s probably your worst memory, I don’t want you to tell me if it’ll hurt you.”

“It isn’t.” Zuko looked back at Sokka. “My worst memory, I mean. My worst memory came during the court case. I guess the scar was a close second.” Zuko held Sokka’s hand tight. “Besides, I know you’d never make me feel like I have to tell you. I _want_ to tell you.”

Zuko laid down on the bed, and Sokka laid beside him. The two boys stared at the ceiling, and Sokka stayed quiet while Zuko gathered his thoughts.

“It wasn’t the first time he’d hurt me, but it was the worst,” Zuko began as a whisper. “Dad had always been a smoker, he liked cigars, and he had a penchant for lighters. He would sometimes burn me, but it was never that bad. Most of the marks healed and faded anyways, so I dismissed them. I guess I just – assumed that this was how dads treated their sons. It’s why I didn’t trust your dad for years after I met you guys.”

Now that he mentioned it, Sokka did recall when they were children, multiple instances in which Zuko would take the blame when he and Sokka were out past curfew, or had broken something, or even when Sokka had crashed his bike and broken his wrist, and Zuko had said it was his fault and that Sokka shouldn’t be in trouble for ruining the bike. He remembered not understanding why Zuko was concerned about the bike. Hakoda had looked confused too.

Hakoda had said, “Accidents happen. Sokka, can you stand? We have to go to a hospital.”

Zuko had insisted on staying with them and going to the hospital, and Hakoda was in too much of a hurry to argue. While Sokka cried in the backseat, Hakoda told him how brave he was being, and what a trooper he was, and that they were almost to the hospital and everything would be fine. Zuko hadn’t left him alone even after he’d gotten the cast on, he had practically begged to stay the night in Sokka’s room, and Hakoda and Ursa had relented and let him.

Sokka had never really thought about why Zuko had done this. He always thought Zuko was just being overprotective. Now he realized that Zuko was afraid that Hakoda would have punished him for things that weren’t his fault, like his own father always had. It hurt Sokka to think about. He simply squeezed Zuko’s hand, silent encouragement to continue.

“Dad had always sent us to private schools. Azula excelled, of course. He had sent Azula to an all-girls school, and me to an all-boys school, to try and force us to stay focused on our studies.” He let out a humorless chuckle. “Go figure, right?” He went quiet for a moment. “It was just after my tenth birthday, when I brought a boy home. We were friends, but I’d never brought anyone over before. But we had a project, and I figured dad wouldn’t mind. So we went up to my room and started working on it. Then we started talking. And he said that some boys like boys the way that girls do. It was an all-boys school, but it wasn’t a religious one, so it was never even talked about in school. I was intrigued, because up until then I thought maybe I was the only one.”

Zuko was aware that he had just come out to his friend, and Sokka had tensed ever so slightly at the revelation. Zuko knew Sokka wouldn’t judge him, Sokka had told the whole group of friends that he was bisexual a few days after Azula had come out to Ursa, and everyone was supportive. But he still wasn’t exactly sure he was ready to be publicly gay; he didn’t feel brave like Azula. Maybe he was a coward, like Ozai always said…

“You okay to keep going?” Sokka’s voice softly interrupted his thoughts.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah, sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

This was a conversation they’d had frequently. Zuko would always apologize for little things, or things that weren’t his fault, since that was the only way he could ever get his dad’s forgiveness, even if he didn’t know what he was apologizing for. It didn’t even work most of the time, but it was a trauma response he didn’t seem to be able to shake, and it meant his friends were always there to remind him they loved him and he didn’t need to apologize for everything.

“Right. So, he had asked if I knew anyone that liked boys like that, and I said that I didn’t know. I didn’t know there was a word for it at the time. I suppose some of the boys at school said it, but I didn’t really talk to any of them, and they didn’t talk to me either, so I didn’t know what gay _meant_. And he said that maybe he did, because he thought he liked boys. And I told him that I might too. And he asked me if I had ever kissed anyone, and I said no, and he said he hadn’t either. And he said, since other boys in our year were kissing girls, shouldn’t we be kissing boys? We were just kids trying to figure out who we were.”

Zuko inhaled and blew out a shaky breath. “Then dad walked in. I don’t know if he had heard our conversation when he passed the door, or if he could just tell that something was going on. But he was – he was so calm when he told him to leave. So my friend left, and I was alone with my dad. And I guess I assumed he wasn’t mad since he didn’t yell. Then he asked what I was doing when he walked in. And I didn’t – I didn’t _know_ that anyone would think it was weird, so I told him. And he still didn’t get mad. Then he said that I needed punished. I didn’t know what for, and he didn’t tell me, he just held me down and pulled out his lighter and… I blacked out after that. I just remember the pain, then waking up in the hospital. My doctor said that I was conscious the whole time, that they could tell by the pattern of the burn that I was moving and trying to get away. Apparently, the brain can block out memories that are too traumatizing, it’s a PTSD response. Who knew?”

Sokka was quiet. He looked over at Zuko, to see tears leaking down his face and hitting his pillow.

“After that, I could tell by the way that they looked at me when I was in the hospital that things were changing. I wasn’t left in the room alone at any time. Dad had left me on the floor, and that’s where Uncle found me, he’s the one who took me to the hospital. All the court proceedings took so long, and they wanted me to speak on the stand. Dad’s money got the best lawyers, and our lawyer said that it would help the case if I showed what he had done and why he did it. And I was so scared. That the judge would take his side. And that’s when the worst moment of my life was. It wasn’t when my dad burnt me. It was when I went up to the stand, took off my bandages, and told everyone _why_ he did it. And someone came up to us afterwards, and said that I deserved it.”

Sokka was in shock. He felt angry. He never knew that Zuko had gone through all of this. “That’s fucked up, Zuko. I need you to know that you didn’t deserve it.”

“I know that _now_ , but I didn’t for a long time. Dad got eighteen months in prison, got out after twelve for good behavior, and was on probation until a few weeks ago. And even though we have a restraining order, he’s still trying to get Azula. And I can’t - I _can’t_ face him again.”

“You won’t have to. The judge can’t possibly hear this, it’s got to be thrown out, right? Your dad committed a hate crime, it was attempted murder.”

“I feel like it shouldn’t get to the court system, but I can’t be sure,” Zuko whispered. “I’m… I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to see him again. They can’t protect my name this time, I’m not a minor.”

Sokka let Zuko cry a bit longer, holding his hand as they lay side by side. When Zuko was taking even breaths again, Sokka simply said, “We’re going to get through this. I won’t let him hurt you again. I promise.” Sokka leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed a blanket from the floor, putting it over Zuko. “Now go to bed. We can talk more in the morning.”

Zuko nodded, and was the first one to fall asleep. And if Sokka let Zuko snuggle into him in his sleep, he didn’t tell him the next morning.

When Zuko snuck down the stairs early the next day and saw Hakoda standing there drinking coffee and watching the news, he let out a squeak. Hakoda simply cocked an eyebrow before turning back to the news, and Zuko scurried out the door.

Hakoda and Zuko didn’t mention that to anyone either.

-

The court case didn’t get thrown out.

Ursa, Iroh, Azula and Zuko were getting ready to go to court, preparing everything they need, evidence, testimony –

Until Ozai broke his restraining order by getting too close to Azula when she left school one afternoon.

_Then_ the case was thrown out.

Zuko and Ursa never had to see Ozai again. Iroh and Azula did though. The judge told Ozai that by breaking his restraining order, he’d all but proved that he must’ve been the one at fault, especially considering how spooked Azula was. This time, Azula did speak with the judge, and that’s the biggest reason why they didn’t go to court.

Zuko couldn’t help but think it was sweet justice, that for once, Ozai was the victim of his own sins.

Sokka didn’t think it was enough.

No one else did either.

-

They were all having what Aang called “family dinner,” in the April chill, perfect weather for a barbeque. Gyatso and Iroh were playing Pai Sho, Gyatso the only person who could ever beat Iroh, and their score was always fluctuating between the two as to who had more wins.

All the teenagers were sitting around the bonfire as the sun went down, and Katara rushed into the house and came out with blankets that they all wrapped themselves up in. Hakoda and Ursa looked at the kids, each with a drink in hand. Noren, Ursa’s boyfriend, was cleaning up the grill. (Hakoda had planned on doing it, but Noren insisted, possibly under the impression that he needed Hakoda’s approval for their relationship. Although Hakoda trusted Ursa’s judgment and had no say on her relationships, he wasn’t going to turn down someone else cleaning.)

Ursa ran a finger around the rim of her glass of red wine. “Do you think I did the right thing? I know I should push for Ozai to go back to prison, but that means Zuko and Azula would have to testify again, and I don’t want to do that to them.”

“It’s impossible to say, really,” Hakoda told her honestly. “But you’re doing what you can to protect them. Maybe sometime down the road, you can bring this up to them, but that’s something for later – I think you’re doing the right thing for right now, though.”

Ursa smiled gratefully, as if she had just wanted some reassurance. Noren came back and sat down next to her, and she curled into him. Hakoda smiled. Apparently, Noren had been an old flame and great love of hers before she had met Ozai. He hadn’t asked what circumstances had led to her leaving him for Ozai, but it wasn’t his business anyways. They had fallen back in love quickly, and he was happy for them, truly. Ursa deserved to find someone who really loves her, and Noren adored Azula and Zuko, he treated them as his own, and that’s what mattered most to any of them. He hoped that he could find a second love someday. Bato assured him he would, but he wasn’t necessarily looking. Although maybe it was time…

“Can I talk to you?” Hakoda heard Zuko’s voice ask. He turned to see him standing in front of where Katara, Suki, and Toph were snuggled under a large crochet blanket at the wooden picnic table by the fire.

Katara nodded, and she led Zuko back into the house.

Hakoda gestured towards them and looked back at Ursa. “See what I mean?” He whispered emphatically. “There’s something going on there!”

Ursa simply rolled her eyes. “Yeah, _something_ , it doesn’t mean anything romantic.”

Hakoda huffed. “Fine, I guess we’ll see when prom comes around.”

“I suppose we will then.”

-

One month passed, prom was right around the corner, and Zuko was panicking. He was standing outside Sokka’s front door, palms sweaty and wearing a suit, holding a rose, trying to work up the nerve to knock on the door. Eventually, he forced himself to knock and kept his feet planted firmly on the ground to stop himself from running away. (He may have done that yesterday, but that was his business.)

Hakoda opened the door and greeted him cheerfully, “Zuko, hi.”

“Uh, hi, Hakoda – uh, sir.”

Hakoda looked the boy up and down. “This doesn’t have anything to do with prom, does it?”

Zuko flushed. “Um, yeah. It does. I – I’ve been friends with Katara and Sokka for so long, and this feels like the next step. And… and this is what I want to ask, and hopefully I’ll get a yes.” He trailed off nervously, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Hakoda smiled. “You want to take my baby to prom?”

“Yes, sir. I do. Do you think you could…?”

“Of course.” Hakoda turned and called up the stairs, “Katara!”

“Wait, what?”

“What is it, dad?” Katara asked when she got to the landing.

“I think Zuko and you have something to talk about,” Hakoda began as he went to exit the room.

“Uh, no, actually, we don’t?” Zuko let out in a strangled voice.

Hakoda stopped. He was silent for a moment. “I’m afraid I’m confused, Zuko.”

“So am I,” Katara added, glancing strangely at her father, then giving Zuko a look that read clearly ‘ _you’re blowing it_.’

“Yeah, well, that makes three of us,” Zuko said exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair. “I thought you knew who I wanted to ask, I came here to ask _Sokka_.”

“You did? Really?” A fourth voice asked.

Sokka was standing at the top of the stairs, wearing sweatpants and a gaming headset, the latter of which he took off and tossed back into his room unceremoniously. He took the steps three at a time to get to the door.

“I – yeah. I’m sorry, this isn’t going the way I imagined it, I had this whole plan, and I had a picnic but then Azula told me that was corny and you wouldn’t go for it, then your dad thought I was going to ask Katara even though she’s already seeing someone – ”

“You are?” Hakoda asked, turning towards Katara, who smiled sheepishly in response.

“Um, yeah, it’s Aang.”

“But I thought… months ago, I thought Zuko was coming out of your room?”

“No? Wait, you would’ve been okay if Zuko spent the night in my room?” When Hakoda shrugged, Katara exploded. “You didn’t let _Aang_ spend the night a few weeks ago!”

“Aang is too smooth, he’s too charming,” Hakoda scolded. “He’s a good boy, but I don’t trust you and him alone at night. Besides, he lives across the street, he didn’t need to spend the night.”

“Zuko lives _right next door_!” Katara countered with ire.

“I’m not worried about you being alone with Zuko, he’d never try and make a move on you. Just look at him,” Hakoda gestured to where the boy was standing nervously, looking like everything was out of his control and he was about to tuck tail and head home.

“Dad!” Sokka and Katara both declared admonishingly at the same time, as Zuko said sarcastically, “Thanks.”

Zuko huffed and turned back to Sokka. “I’m sorry. I wanted this to be perfect, and it hasn’t been. I just - I like you _so_ much, and at first I thought I wanted to be around you all the time because you're my best friend, until I realized that I wanted more than that. And I had a plan to spill my guts, but everything has gone wrong, and I – ”

He was cut off by a chaste kiss pressed against his lips. Sokka held him close and smiled. “You talk too much, you know that?”

“Yeah… yeah, I’ve heard that before," Zuko responded with a grin that brightened his whole face.

Hakoda and Katara went to a separate room, Katara quickly pulling out her phone to text the groupchat titled _Zukka Mission 2k20_ , and all the friends responded almost immediately with a resounding _FINALLY_. Toph had responded with a quick “let's see how long it takes for them to fuck lol” to which Aang responded with “please can we not do this” and Ty Lee and Suki said “no” and “let her finish” respectively. Despite knowing that they were joking, she told them how she felt with a firm “EW!”

Later that night, the two boys went up in Sokka’s room, which Hakoda approved of, and Katara started shouting again about how “ _what, is Sokka’s purity less important than mine? What do you think is gonna happen, dad?_ ” which Hakoda spluttered about for a bit. He was doing his best, but Katara was full of righteous feminist fury. She was going to win this fight, and they both knew it. He finally gave up and consented that Aang was allowed to be in her room but he’s allowed to come check on them and “ _please for the love of God, Katara, just be safe_ ” which brought up a whole other argument.

Sokka was running his hands through Zuko’s hair as they snuggled up on his bed. Zuko grinned contentedly as they caught up on _Criminal Minds_ , when Zuko suddenly bolted upright.

“Wait a second, you never said yes to prom!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m thinking of going more in depth to this fic’s universe. i’ve always liked those social media/groupchat au’s, so if anyone would be interested in reading one of those for this fic, please let me know, i’m seriously considering doing it haha.  
> thank you all so much for the love, and thanks for going on this journey with me. ♥️


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